Drum-top pump assembly

ABSTRACT

A fluid pump assembly adapted to be removably mounted upon an upright cylindrical fluid-containing drum. The assembly includes a rigid mounting plate with a motor-driven pump mounted on its upper face. Four downwardly extending shoulder flanges are attached to the plate at its periphery and are spaced to engage with the upper rim of a drum of standardized size, thus securing the plate against horizontal motion on the drum. An open-ended sleeve attached to and extending downwardly from the lower face of the mounting plate is located in an off-center position to register with and pass through the bunghole of the drum. Flexible hoses pass from the motor-driven pump, through a hole drilled in the plate above the sleeve, and through the sleeve itself to the interior of the drum. When the pump assembly is not in use, the flexible pressure output hose attached to the pump is wound around and secured by C-shaped brackets formed by the combination of the vertical shoulder members, an upper outwardly-extending carrying flange secured to the top of each shoulder member, and a lower outwardly-extending holding flange secured to the bottom of each shoulder member.

United States Patent [1 1 Hough Sept. 3, 1974 DRUM-TOP PUMP ASSEMBLY Curtis R. Hough, Zion, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Chrismin Manufacturing Company,

Inc., Zion, Ill.

[22] Filed: May 18, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 361,571

[75] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl. 222/383 [51] Int. Cl B67d 5/40 [58] Field of Search 417/360; 222/180, 74, 333, 222/382, 383, 384, 385; 239/195;

Primary ExaminerStanley- H. Tollberg Assistant Examiner-Larry H. Martin Attorney, Agent, or FirmMolinare, Allegretti, Newitt & Witcoff [5 7 ABSTRACT A fluid pump assembly adapted to be removably mounted upon an upright cylindrical fluid-containing drum. The assembly includes a rigid mounting plate with a motor-driven pump mounted on its upper face. Four downwardly extending shoulder flanges are attached to the plate-at its periphery and are spaced to engage with the upper rim of a drum of standardized size, thus securing the plate against horizontal motion on the drum. An open-ended sleeve attached to and extending downwardly from the lower face of the mounting plate is located in an off-center position to register with and pass through the bunghole of the drum. Flexible hoses pass from the motor-driven pump, through a hole drilled in theplate above the sleeve, and through the sleeve itself to the interior of the drum. When the pump assembly is not in use, the flexible pressure output hose attached to the pump is wound around and secured by C-shaped brackets formed by the combination of the vertical shoulder members, an upper outwardly-extending carrying flange secured to the top of each shoulder member, and a lower outwardly-extending holding flange secured to the bottom of each shoulder member,

3 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEUSEP alum v sum ear 2 DRUM-TOP PUMP ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to fluid pumping apparatus.

Contractors, farmers, fruit growers and the like often employ fluid pumping apparatus in the field for a variety of purposes. The fluid itself is normally supplied to the user in cylindrical drums of standard size, from which the fluid is transferred to a pump reservoir or tank.

Often such pumping equipment is used for multiple purposes. For example, a farmer may use the same pump to spray insecticides, weed killers, and liquid fertilizers. As a result, it is often necessary to thoroughly clean the pumping reservoir between different jobs. In addition, the inconvenience of returning any residue to the original supply drum results in disposal of the residue. Still further, the fact that the fluid must be transferred from the supply drum to the pumping reservoir in the field often results in contamination of the fluid by blowing dust or the collection of foreign materials on either the drum or the pumping reservoir. The use of such equipment in the field, where no equipment for cleaning the tanks is available, often necessitates the return of the pumping equipment to a base station in order that it can be cleaned and refilled for a different job.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to improve the convenience, lower the cost, and enhance the performance of fluid pumping equipment intended primarily for field use.

In a principal aspect, the present invention takes the form of a fluid pump assembly adapted to be removably mounted upon a substantially cylindrical, upright, fluid-containing, supply drum of standardized size. In accordance with one feature of the present invention, a motor-driven pump is mounted on the upper face of a rigid mounting plate, at the periphery of which are attached downwardly extending shoulder members positioned to engage with the outer edge of the upper rim of the supply drum, thereby positioning the mounting plate on the drum.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, an open-ended sleeve is attached to and extends downwardly from the lower face of the mounting plate in an off-center position to register with the bunghole of the drum, this hollow sleeve having an outside diameter substantially equal to but slightly less than the inside diameter of the bunghole, thereby securing the plate against rotational motion with respect to the drum, pro tecting the flexible intake and relief hoses which extend from the pump to the interior of the drum, and minimizing evaporation from the supply drum.

In accordance with still another feature of the invention, upper and lower radially extending flanges are attached to each of the vertically extending shoulder members, thereby forming a plurality of C-shaped brackets for receiving and retaining the flexible, pressure output hose which may be wound thereon for storage when the pumping assembly is not in use.

In accordance with still a further feature of the invention, the upper, radially extending flanges attached to each vertical shoulder member form carrying handles, facilitating the transportation of the assembly and its mounting upon and removal from the drum top.

The invention eliminates the need for a pumping reservoir or tank permanently associated with the pump, and instead uses the supply drum itself as the pumping reservoir, thus leaving no separate pumping tank to clean, no need to transfer fluid from the supply drum to a separate pumping tank, and no risk of contaminating the fluid during the transferring process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent through a consideration of the following detailed description which is presented in connection with the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the fluid pumping assembly shown being manually mounted upon a standard supply drum;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the drum and pump assembly shown with the pressure supply hose in its unwound, operational position, a portion of the drum and assembly being cut away to. illustrate the positioning of the protective sleeve, intake and relief hoses;

FIG. 3. is an enlarged perspective view of the drumtop pumping assembly;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the assembly; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the assembly.

In the drawings, like reference numerals have been employed to refer to like portions of the assembly as shown in each of the five figures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The drum-top pumping assembly shown in the drawings comprises a circular mounting plate 10 having an outside diameter slightly larger than the outside diameter of the upper rim of a standard fluid supply drum 12. Four vertical shoulder flanges 14 are positioned at intervals around the periphery of the plate 10 and extend downwardly from the plate 10 to position the assembly on the drum 12. v

Upper and lower flanges, l6 and 18 respectively, extend radially outward from the ends of the shoulder member 14. As clearly seen in FIG. 1, the flanges 16 and 18, together with the shoulder member 14, form C-shaped mounting brackets which receive and store a length of output pressure hose 20 connected to the pressure output of a pump 22 driven by a motor 24. In the embodiment described, motor 24 is a pull-start internal combustion engine of conventional design, suitable for field use. Where electricalpower is available, an electric pump motor could be substituted.

- Handle grips 26 are pressed over the upperflanges 16 to facilitate removal and carrying of the pump assembly.

A hollow, open-ended sleeve 30 is welded to the bottom face of the circular plate 10 immediately below an aperture 32. Both the fluid intake hose-36 and the relief hose 38 pass from the pump v22 through the aperture 32 and the hollow interior of the sleeve 30 to the interior of the drum 12. Fluid intake hose 36 is sufficiently long that its end is immersed even when the fluid within the supply drum 12 is at a low level.

As most clearly seen in FIG. 5, the sleeve 30 is placed at an off-center position on the, circular plate 10 to re'gister with and pass through the bunghole 42 .in the upper face of the drum 12. The sleeve 30 is thus effective to protect the hoses 36 and 38 and also secures the pumping assembly against rotation with respect to the drum 12. The inside diameter of the aperture 32 in the plate 10, or the inside diameter of the sleeve 30, or both, may be sized such that the hoses 36 and 38 fit snugly therein, thus minimizing evaporation when the assembly is left in its mounted position with the supply drum otherwise uncapped. For this reason, and to further minimize movement of the assembly with respect to the supply drum, the outside diameter of the sleeve 30 is made substantially equal to, but slightly less than the standard inside diameter of the drums bunghole.

In use, the entire drum assembly may be carried to the field location where it is to be used and there mounted upon the fluid supply drum as shown in FIG. 1. When its use is completed, or when it is desired to use the assembly for pumping other fluids, it may be removed from the original drum (which may then be capped for further use without waste). The hose mounting bracket made up of shoulder member 14 and brackets 16 and 18 provide convenient carrying handles for the assembly as well as a storage mount for the output pressure hose 20.

It is to be understood that the embodiment of the invention which has been described is merely illustrative of one application of the principles of the invention. Numerous modifications may be made to the described pump assembly without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A fluid pump assembly adapted to be removably mounted upon a substantially cylindrical upright fluid supply drum having top and bottom circular end faces and a bunghole positioned off-center on said upper face, said pump assembly comprising, in combination:

a rigid mounting plate,

a plurality of downwardly extending shoulder members attached to said plate and spaced to engage with the upper rim of said drum to position said plate on said drum,

an open-ended sleeve attached to and extending downwardly fromsaid mounting plate in an offcenter position to register with and pass through said bunghole, said sleeve having an outside diameter smaller than the inside diameter of said bunghole,

a motor-driven pump mounted on the upper side of said mounting plate, said pump having flexible intake and pressure output hoses attached thereto, said intake hose being insertable through said sleeve to the interior of said drum, and

upper and lower outwardly extending flanges attached to each of said downwardly extending shoulder members to form a plurality of C-shaped spaced apart retaining brackets for receiving said flexible pressure output hose when wound thereon.

2. A fluid pump assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said upper outwardly extending flanges extends outwardly to provide'a handle grip, facilitating manual removal of said pump assembly from said drum. 7

3. A fluid pump assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said mounting plate is a circular disc having an outside diameter substantially equal to but slightly greater than the outside diameter of the upper face of said drum.

4. A fluid pump assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein said shoulder members comprise four spacedapart, vertically extending shoulder flanges attached to the periphery of said disc. 

1. A fluid pump assembly adapted to be removably mounted upon a substantially cylindrical upright fluid supply drum having top and bottom circular end faces and a bunghole positioned offcenter on said upper face, said pump assembly comprising, in combination: a rigid mounting plate, a plurality of downwardly extending shoulder members attached to said plate and spaced to engage with the upper rim of said drum to position said plate on said drum, an open-ended sleeve attached to and extending downwardly from said mounting plate in an off-center position to register with and pass through said bunghole, said sleeve having an outside diameter smaller than the inside diameter of said bunghole, a motor-driven pump mounted on the upper side of said mounting plate, said pump having flexible intake and pressure output hoses attached thereto, said intake hose being insertable through said sleeve to the interior of said drum, and upper and lower outwardly extending flanges attached to each of said downwardly extending shoulder members to form a plurality of C-shaped spaced apart retaining brackets for receiving said flexible pressure output hose when wound thereon.
 2. A fluid pump assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said upper outwardly extending flanges extends outwardly to provide a handle grip, facilitating manual removal of said pump assembly from said drum.
 3. A fluid pump assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said mounting plate is a circular disc having an outside diameter substantially equal to but slightly greater than the outside diameter of the upper face of said drum.
 4. A fluid pump assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein said shoulder members comprise four spaced-apart, vertically extending shoulder flanges attached to the periphery of said disc. 